Still Have to Rely on the System

His large face burned with pain; fortunately, Tahm had thick skin, or that blow could have left him crippled.

Having never experienced such pain, Tahm touched his deformed face and froze in place, stunned.

Toad White was also momentarily dazed. He had only just exerted some effort, so why was his opponent already AFK in the middle of the arena?

The crowd erupted in an uproar. The frogs were shocked—not by Toad White's "stunning" performance, but by the fact that Sage Fukasaku's disciple was so pathetic! The strength Toad White displayed was merely that of an ordinary ninja frog. If someone of his level could receive personal instruction from a Sage, could there be some unspeakable, shady deal going on behind the scenes?

Hidden in a corner and silently watching the battle, Sage Fukasaku sighed inwardly: Just as expected. It was a good thing he hadn't revealed himself to watch; otherwise, his old face would have been completely disgraced. How would he be able to face other toads in the future?

Weak strength, poor aptitude, and it took him a whole year just to learn a tongue-stretching ninjutsu. On top of that, he was overestimating his own abilities. His only merit was perhaps his pure (idiotic) personality? What exactly did the Great Toad Sage see in him?

Old Sage Fukasaku once again recalled the prophecy the Great Toad Sage had made about Tahm a year ago: He will change the era.

This prophecy supported Fukasaku, preventing his psychological defenses from completely collapsing after being beaten down by Tahm time and time again. Not only did he step forward to take him as a disciple, but he also taught him hand-in-hand how to become a ninja frog, persisting for a whole year without giving up, despite Tahm's chicken-level aptitude for chakra and ninjutsu.

Although he had long expected Tahm to suffer a crushing defeat, Sage Fukasaku still felt a wave of emotion: He had taught legendary figures of the ninja world like the Sannin Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage; how had he fallen to this point?

You brat! Where is the combat awareness I taught you? If you can't win, why are you just standing there dazed on the field?

While feeling frustrated that his student wouldn't live up to his expectations, he had already begun to formulate a devilish training regimen for him after the trial.

However, Tahm, who was currently performing his "AFK" stunt on the field, wasn't doing it because he was afraid of the pain. Rather, his golden finger had finally arrived after much anticipation!

While he was being sent flying by the staff, a mechanical voice appeared out of thin air in his mind:

Combat damage detected.

Combat system unlocked.

Digitized template activated.

Then, a frog avatar appeared eerily in Tahm's field of vision. He recognized it at a glance as his "Tahm Kench avatar" from the game. A small number "1" below it told him he was still a level 1 weakling, and a circle of experience bar was, naturally, empty. Besides that, there was the familiar flat mini-map, on which the surrounding terrain and life forms were clearly visible. Next to the avatar were the familiar health and mana bars, with data showing 680/852 (regeneration 6.5/s) and 110/110 (regeneration 1/s).

Wait, I'm a hero at least, so why is my starting mana bar only 110?

The question had barely surfaced in his mind when a line of text appeared in his head to respond: After the system is realized, specific attributes change according to the host's actual situation. The average health and chakra limits of a genin in the ninja world—500 health and 300 chakra—are used as the standard for digitization.

Uh. So my mana is only one-third the level of an average genin? You have to know that an average genin isn't even qualified to be a background character in the original story.

Tahm finally had an objective understanding of his own strength.

Next, examining his combat system, Tahm saw the familiar skill bar. The passive skill [An Acquired Taste] was active: By dealing damage to enemy heroes with basic attacks and abilities, Tahm could stack [An Acquired Taste] on the target. When the stacks on an enemy hero reached 3, Tahm could use [Devour] to swallow that enemy hero.

Looking at the other skills, they were all grayed out. However, as a level 1, he did have one skill point to spend. After a moment of thought, Tahm chose to learn the W skill [Devour]: It could swallow a target; swallowing an ally granted movement speed, swallowing an enemy slowed them, and spitting them out dealt damage.

Why was the skill explanation so vague without specific numbers, and why didn't it show the MP cost? The moment the thought arose, he received a response: After the system is realized, the MP cost of skills, the magnitude of speed changes, and the damage dealt are determined by the combined strength of the host, the ally, and the enemy. It is also affected by the force, distance, and method of the attack. Specific skill data is determined by the situation.

With his questions answered, Tahm suddenly discovered that there was a small, lit-up skill box below his skill bar. Looking closely, this skill was actually [Mount Myoboku Style: Tongue Lash]: It could infuse chakra into Tahm's tongue, increasing the attack distance and the force of the tongue strike.

So the skills I trained myself could also be recognized by the system? Tahm had a strange feeling—was he the first hero in the Rift to have extra skill boxes?

Immersed in the happiness of his golden finger, Tahm didn't notice that he had been dazed on the trial field for several minutes. The host frog on the side finally couldn't wait any longer, picked up the microphone, and said, "Contestant Tahm, if you want to forfeit, please leave the field voluntarily. Do not interfere with the normal order of the trial." The audience booed, and Sage Fukasaku, hiding on the side, had a face as dark and terrifying as an ultimate ninjutsu, as if he couldn't suppress the urge to release a Sage Art: Toad Water Gun at the field to send this wicked disciple to the heavens.

Wait! Tahm finally realized he was still in the middle of a battle. Fortunately, his opponent was an honest toad who had actually dazed off with him instead of taking advantage of the situation to land a few more blows on his head. However, in the few minutes he had been dazed, Tahm noticed that his health had already fully recovered on its own. He couldn't feel the pain from before at all—with this kind of recovery ability, no matter how badly he was injured, as long as he didn't die, he wouldn't need medical ninjutsu; he could just stand there and heal to full!

"Haha!" Tahm immediately felt reborn and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Just now, this Sage was only letting you have a move. Now, it is time to show you my true technique!"

Once he got excited, Tahm started speaking in a language the other toads couldn't understand again. However, everyone could feel his mysterious confidence, though the dark aura on Sage Fukasaku's face grew even thicker.

"Okay... then let's... continue." The honest Toad White finally reacted, tightened his grip on the iron staff that was as tall as a person, and entered a combat state.

Since his golden finger was unlocked, Tahm felt confident again and became suave once more. It seemed the next part of the plot would be his counterattack, where he would burst with power and be worshipped by everyone. So, with the flair of a master, he waved his short little hand: Please!

"Okay."

Toad White moved. His powerful frog legs kicked hard against the ground, and the power of chakra surged forth. His entire body carried immense kinetic energy as he arrived in mid-air, and the shadow of a dark staff grew larger and larger in Tahm's vision.

Hmph! This time, I'm different! Tahm sneered in his heart and roared, "Summoner Spell: Flash!"

A sound of air being torn apart rang out instantly. A giant frog shadow flew through the air once again, tracing a perfect parabola in a rounded posture.

Such a familiar scene; have I seen this before? The audience's thoughts were miraculously synchronized. By the way, what was the "Flash" skill Tahm just shouted? Could it be this special aerial movement technique?

And Tahm, who had been beaten into the air yet again, had only one thought: Director, this script is wrong!